A lot of details about the Monitor's design are in this article in the NY Times.
This is what I found fascinating: The War Department in 1861 opened a public competition to design a new class of warships. The designs had to be submitted in a month. They built the ship in four months. From one end to the other, it was a ship with new technologies and it was in combat a month after that.
The closest thing that I've heard to that was the first class of LSTs, which went from the beginning of design at BuShips to sea trials in less than a year. Over a thousand were built during the war. One of them is still working for a living.
4 comments:
The detail that caught my attention was that the designer thought to line the inside of the turret with iron - to prevent shrapnel from the fasteners . . . smart feller!
There is LST-325 that is still a navigable ship and now an active museum ship. the stroy of its return from service in Greece to the USA is a good one to read.
Eck!
So cool that LST-510 is still in service as a ferry on Long Island Sound!
I've been to the museum to see it several times. They did a great job of presenting the ship and it's story. IMO a must see item for anyone visiting Hampton Roads.
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